


Scent of desire

by Nary



Category: Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells
Genre: Age Difference, Alien Biology, Biting, Carrying, Compatibility, Cultural Differences, F/M, First Time, Interspecies Sex, Rough Sex, Scents & Smells, Scratching, Table Sex, Woman on Top
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-02 17:41:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11514246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nary/pseuds/Nary
Summary: "What do you want?" Rorra asked, cutting right to the chase as she always did."To see you before I leave," he replied.  He was older than everyone on this boat put together, he shouldn't have felt nervous about this, but he did.Rorra's eyes narrowed.  "Moon said you liked me, but that it didn't mean anything.  But I'd like to hear from you - what does it mean?"Stone rolled his eyes.  Of course Moon would go putting his foot in his mouth, given any opportunity.  "I like you," he admitted.  "And he's wrong.  It does mean something."





	Scent of desire

**Author's Note:**

> Minor spoilers for Harbors of the Sun.

The sunsailer was quieter than the wind-ship, or at least not swarming with other Raksura, which was what really mattered. Stone hadn't wanted to talk to Rorra with everyone else from his court around. When he'd asked if they could go into her cabin, thinking it would be more private, she'd given him a wry look, but agreed.

The cabin was small, though not cramped - everything that was there was necessary, and had its own place. Stone could appreciate that. "What do you want?" Rorra asked, cutting right to the chase as she always did.

"To see you before I leave," he replied. He was older than everyone on this boat put together, he shouldn't have felt nervous about this, but he did. 

Rorra's eyes narrowed. "Moon said you liked me, but that it didn't mean anything. But I'd like to hear from you - what does it mean?"

Stone rolled his eyes. Of course Moon would go putting his foot in his mouth, given any opportunity. "I like you," he admitted. "And he's wrong. It does mean something." 

Crossing her arms, Rorra waited for him to continue.

Sighing, Stone said, "It means I care about you. About what happens to you. And I worry about leaving you, and what could happen while we're gone."

"There are still going to be other Raksura here," she pointed out. "They seem like they can handle themselves in a fight." 

This was more than true - even Malachite on her own was a fearsome foe, and would be a match for most things they might encounter, and Jade and the warriors were staying as well. 

"Yes," Stone agreed grudgingly, "but they're not me."

"No," Rorra said, "I suppose they're not." She busied herself at the table, folding up some charts and maps made of wooden slats that overlapped one another. Her scent, the one she emitted uncontrollably when she needed space or felt stressed, was especially noticeable in the confined quarters.

"If I'm making you uncomfortable, I can go," he said.

She gave a faint huff of breath and turned to face him again. "I just like to know what it means when someone snaps a creature's neck with his bare hands to save my life, then comes to my bunk and practically collapses on top of me."

Maybe he had been a bit over-dramatic. It was the sort of gesture an infatuated fledgling might make. "We were all exhausted," Stone said, feeling unaccountably defensive. "You didn't have to kick me out to sleep on the cabin roof."

"If a guest's going to stay in my cabin, he's not going to do much sleeping," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Well," he said, spreading his hands open, "I'm here now, and I'm not tired."

Rorra crossed the small room in two steps, standing directly in front of him. The scent had faded, so she wasn't trying to force him out. Stone stood his ground and, when she got close enough, pulled her into his arms and held her there. She was tall, and only had to stretch up slightly to rest her head against his. She was trembling a little, whether from nervousness or relief, and Stone stroked her back in what he hoped was a comforting way. 

Eventually she drew back enough to look him in the face. "The other Raksura have sex whenever they feel like it, but not you. Why?"

Stone had to think about how to explain that. "Partly it's just that I don't usually feel like it," he told her. After Azure had died, Stone had still had some partners among the Arbora, and his warrior favorites, but one by one they'd died as well, and he hadn't sought out new ones. It just hadn't felt right anymore. Or maybe it was the pain of having to say goodbye to lovers over and over again that had simply become unbearable, had made him cut himself off from those desires. He wasn't sure if it was something that happened to all line grandfathers, or just to him. It would be complicated to explain all of that to Rorra, though. Instead he just said, "I'm old. I thought those needs had mostly faded away."

"But they haven't?" She was pressed close against him - close enough to feel how hard he was getting.

"Apparently not," he told her. 

"Good," she said. She nuzzled her lips against his neck, where gills would be on someone of her kind, and Stone responded by nipping at hers in turn. He tried to be gentle, expecting that her skin would be more fragile than a Raksura's, but she didn't complain. "I've been wanting to do that for a while now," she sighed.

"Oh?" Stone said, bemused. He felt as clueless as Moon must feel when dealing with other Raksura. "Since when?"

"Since you carried me to spy on the Fell flight," she told him. "When you scooped me up like I weighed nothing to you. I don't suppose you can do that in this form?"

"Not...exactly," he said. That wasn't usually people's reaction to his shifted form - that involved more running in terror. Besides, his winged form was huge and his groundling form didn't have the same power. But he was stronger than he looked, and Rorra was slim and light. He wrapped his arms around her backside and boosted her off the cabin floor, so that she could hook her legs around his waist and hold on as he carried her to the bed.

He'd seen her naked before, and wasn't surprised at the sight of the stump where one of her flippers had once been, or when she stripped off her shirt, revealing a series of gills on either side of her slender green torso. He hesitated to touch them, unsure if they were sensitive or if doing so might interfere with her breathing, but she drew his hand to her chest, showing him where she wanted to be touched. That was one good thing about Rorra - she was very clear about what she liked and didn't like, and wasn't afraid to tell him. It turned out that there was a slightly raised series of darker green scales down the middle of her belly that she very much enjoyed having him stroke. In turn he demonstrated to her how he liked being bitten - her teeth weren't as sharp as a Raksura's, but it still felt good - and how hard she could use her blunt claws against his skin. 

They spent a good while like that, just exploring and getting to know one another's bodies. Gradually, more clothing came off, and eventually they lay there naked, wrapped around one another. Stone could have been patient longer - he wasn't in any particular hurry - but Rorra clearly wasn't in the mood to wait. She slid on top of him and knelt straddling his hips, hands pressing down on his chest. 

"I want more," she told him. Her long grey braids hung down and brushed against his skin when she leaned over to nip him. "I want you inside me."

"Will I fit?" he asked, concerned about hurting her.

"I'll make you fit," Rorra said stubbornly. Stone helped her rise up, steadying her so that she could make good on her promise, and with only a few grimaces and one worrying gasp that turned into a much more pleasurable-sounding moan, she did so. Stone mostly kept still, his breathing shallow and carefully controlled, letting her go at her own pace, until she gave him the signal to start moving. "Slow now," she told him, and he gave her what she wanted, letting his hips move at the gentle pace of the waves that rocked the sunsailer. 

Sex with Rorra was different than with another Raksura - he was more worried about hurting her, for one thing. She was a sealing, more delicate in build and far less well-armored. But she was also Rorra, and he wasn't entirely surprised to feel himself responding to her as he might have to a dominant queen. When she told him to do something, he moved to obey even before he could consciously think about it. It was as though his body knew what to do, and despite the differences in how sex with her felt physically, it still felt entirely right. 

Once she seemed more comfortable with the slow, steady pace that they'd set so far, Rorra wrapped her arms around his neck. Bending down like that allowed her to rub that sensitive patch of scales on her belly against his, and he could feel just how much she enjoyed that. "There's something else I could do," she murmured.

"What's that?"

"There's a scent I can make. A mating scent. It's special - not for just anyone." She could see the slightly worried look on his face, and hastily added, "It's not like the stress scent - I can control it. If you hate it, I'll just stop it."

"Alright," Stone said, willing to try it because it seemed to matter to her, but still wondering whether it would be terrible. 

Rorra ground herself against him harder, her gills fluttering with each breath, and Stone started to pick up a new scent - something spicy and musky, unfamiliar but appealing. He buried his face in her neck so that he could savor it. "I take it you like it, then?" she asked.

"I like it." He wasn't sure whether it was the scent or the way she was grinding against him, but he was feeling a lot less inclined to be patient all of a sudden. He growled, grasping her roughly by the hips.

"Good. Now pick me up," she told him. Stone didn't need any further orders - he sat up, lifting Rorra with him, and she locked her arms around his neck. She couldn't link her legs as solidly, lacking a flipper on one side, but he held her up by hooking his hands under her thighs. With each step he too, she gasped at the pressure of having all her weight bear down on him, and bit down harder on his shoulder. 

With her body more than words, she guided him until he had her up against the table (conveniently cleared of its maps) and could set her down there. With her balanced against the edge, he could thrust into her harder than before. Her scent was stronger now, coming off her in waves, filling the small cabin like a perfume. Rorra cried out encouragement with each rough stroke, and he could feel her shuddering and trembling from within as well as without. Stone clutched her close, plunging into her over and over until the ecstasy he'd been holding back overflowed its barriers and he flooded into her with a roar that everyone could probably hear from the airship.

"Do I need to go sleep on the roof now?" he asked her once they were both somewhat recovered, and she laughed and took him back to her bed.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at [naryrising](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/naryrising) if you want to ask questions, make requests, or chat!


End file.
